Taxi group: Council should set minimum fare

The New York City Council should set a minimum price for the car-hail industry, a taxi drivers group said after Uber cut base fares by 15 percent on Friday.

“In this race to the bottom, no driver wins. It’s only Uber that will be looking to increase its profits,” said Bhairavi Desai of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “We call on the City Council to legislate a minimum fare requirement across this industry so the wages don’t keep getting cut.” (A Council spokesman had no immediate comment.)

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Uber, the car-hail company, reduced its UberX fare by 15 percent and its minimum fare to $7 from $8, the Daily News reported Thursday.

Desai’s group includes both yellow taxi and Uber drivers among its thousands of members, she said.

“Let this be a signal to Uber: this is a year of action ... The drivers are getting organized like never before,” she said.

About a dozen taxi and Uber drivers protested with her Friday outside an Uber office in Long Island City, as Uber drivers entered and exited.

“We love Uber!” shouted several young women riding in a passing black Honda on Jackson Avenue.

An Uber spokesman, Matt Wing, said in an email, “Competition is good for riders and and for drivers. The last time we reduced prices, rides in neighborhoods outside Manhattan — rarely served by yellow cabs — more than doubled. Drivers' net earnings increased because their idle time decreased. The taxi industry may not like competition but it is helped create more affordable options for riders and better earning opportunities for drivers.”

“Yellow cab companies are very exploitative of drivers. Uber is much worse,” said Bill Landauer, a retired taxi driver who now works with Desai’s group.